


toy soldiers

by goodmorningbeloved



Category: Marvel (Comics), The Invincible Iron Man (Comics)
Genre: Drabble, M/M, Tony Stark always had a heart, mild spoilers for invincible iron man #11
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-21
Updated: 2017-09-21
Packaged: 2019-01-03 17:53:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12151788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goodmorningbeloved/pseuds/goodmorningbeloved
Summary: “So this is where you go,” Steve says, quiet in the doorway.





	toy soldiers

“So this is where you go,” Steve says, quiet in the doorway. Tony doesn’t look up from the bundle in his arms, doesn’t even seem surprised that Steve has confessed to following him here.

(Here: From the tower, across town, to a small orphanage tucked by a bridge where some of the older children clamber over the gates at midnight so they can dip their toes in the water, happy to bear the brunt of the punishment in the morning if it means having that fleeting moment of freedom.)

“They cry,” Tony says softly. He's managed to calm the others here so that they now slumber peacefully in their cribs, but this one, a little boy with a dark shock of hair and cheeks that went ruddy when he cried, had taken the longest to soothe. Tony sways him in his arms slowly, carefully. The infant drools in his sleep. “Usually the caretakers sleep through it—and I don’t blame them, God knows they’re overworked enough, but.”

Steve waits for him to continue, one hand still paused on the doorknob and one foot into the moonlit room. Eventually Tony does speak up again, his shoulders a little tense, the way they go when he feels like he’s been backed into a corner with only words to defend himself: “They want to be held. It’s natural. I’ve read studies, it’s been proven countless times that...”

He blinks, looks up at Steve, and maybe realizes that there are no corners here, and it’s just Steve, windswept hair and rumpled sleep clothes. Had Steve gone after him when he realized Tony left the tower?

Tony shrugs a little and looks back down at the infant pressed against his chest. “They just want to be held,” he repeats, feeling useless and selfish. He can’t sleep. That’s why he’s here. He feels wrong, guilty, he’s  _using—_  but these are just children, for God’s sake, they just want to be held, and when they cry, you fucking hold them and  _let_  them cry and tell them  _it’s okay, I’ve got you_ , not  _quit your carrying on, boy,_  or  _Stark men are made of iron—_

“Tony,” Steve says. He takes a step into the room, then another, and Tony angles away from him, feeling something sharp in his eyes and  _no_ , he  _refuses_ , can’t be _—_ be _weak—_ “Come here,” Steve murmurs, and his arms come around Tony, tucking him against his chest. Tony feels himself shaking and tries to stop so he doesn’t wake the dozing infant in his own arms, but it’s hard, it’s so  _hard._

He doesn’t know why he’s crying. If Steve is wondering the same, he doesn’t ask, just slides a gentle hand along the back of Tony’s head and allows him to tilt his face into Steve’s shoulder.

He feels the kiss that Steve presses into his hair. “Do you want me to stay?”

“Please,” Tony whispers.

Steve holds him a little tighter for it, and when he murmurs into his hair, “Don’t worry, Tony, I’ve got you. I’m not going anywhere. I’ve got you," Tony closes his eyes and nods, allowing himself for once to listen.

**Author's Note:**

> [x-posted](http://goodmorningbeloved.tumblr.com/post/165582283207/ao3-based-off-of-x-x-so-this-is-where-you).  
>  based off of canon: [[1](http://68.media.tumblr.com/b4f421fa5068bdb9649235fe8dab6073/tumblr_inline_ni8ko5XQrc1s6c1ya.jpg)], (spoiler warning for invincible iron man #11) [[2](http://knightinironarmor.tumblr.com/post/165545379135/anyway-im-fucking-dying-haha-invincible)].


End file.
